If the Sox are smart they should grab that Peoria franchise and start building a fan base downstate where its either Cub or Cardinal country.
I have never really thought about it much but does anyone want to venture a theory why there are so few Sox fans south of Kankakee?

__________________ Batting in the second position for the White Sox, number 2, the second baseman Nelson Fox.

The Cougars just became affiliated with the Royals last season. I thought those affiliations typically last 8 years. I'd be surprised if they switched again so soon after only 2 seasons w/ the Royals.

People on this site had previously suggested that the Cougars didn't want to affiliate with either the Sox or Cubs because part of their fanbase wouldn't be happy with such an arrangement. Are they changing their mind about that?

I wish the Sox had more of a minor league presence in the midwest. The Cubs have Iowa and Peoria and the Sox have nothing nearby.

If the Sox are smart they should grab that Peoria franchise and start building a fan base downstate where its either Cub or Cardinal country.
I have never really thought about it much but does anyone want to venture a theory why there are so few Sox fans south of Kankakee?

Many years of WGN, probably.
My time in Champaign was incredibly annoying in this respect. During school, the campus consisted of approximately 40% Sox fans, 45% Cubs fans, and 15% Cardinal fans because of all the students from Chicago, but I walked into a Dick's Sporting Goods off campus once and saw Cubs and Cardinals gear only. I asked why no Sox stuff, and they told me "we only carry gear from local teams". I then pointed out that Sox Park was geographically the closest MLB park to Champaign, and the guy just kind of shrugged.
Incidentally, I also grew to dislike Cardinals fans while there because despite being well outnumbered on campus, they would constantly whine about Sox games being on TV in bars instead of Cardinals games.

For years the Sox were on WCFL 1000. It had a strong signal to the east, and not so strong to the south, which WGN did. When I would visit relatives in Pennsylvania during summer vacation I often would pick up Bob Elson just fine on my transistor. When I attended ISU in the early 70's it seemed like there were very few Sox fans downstate. Champaign, Bloomington/Normal and Peoria were kind of a rough line of demarcation. South of that was generally Cardinals territory. A mixed relationship or marriage was a Cubbie fan with a Cardinals fan.

I looked it up and it looks like the Cougars deal with the Royals is only for 2 seasons.

If they're going to become a Cubs affiliate, all I have to say is
It won't really a big deal watching the players if they're part of the Cubs system. Most of those guys will never make it to the majors with their parent club anyway. It's just that the Cougars have always been neutral in terms of the Sox/Cubs rivalry. If they make this deal, i'd imagine they'll really emphasize their relationship with the Cubs.

Quite frankly, I don't want to go there to see Cubs Cubs Cubs everywhere. That'll be a turn off to Sox fans. But, I suppose the Cougars have figured there's more to gain by luring the interest of the more numerous Cubs fans even if it means casting aside locals who root for the Sox.

Quite frankly, I don't want to go there to see Cubs Cubs Cubs everywhere. That'll be a turn off to Sox fans. But, I suppose the Cougars have figured there's more to gain by luring the interest of the more numerous Cubs fans even if it means casting aside locals who root for the Sox.

Quote:

Originally Posted by doublem23

I thought the Cougars had always resisted being affiliated with the Cubs or Sox because they would essentially shut put 1/2 their fanbase

I agree. I was okay with rooting for the Cougars up to now (even as a Royals affiliate), but I admit that becoming a Cubs affiliate would discourage me from going to games. It does depend on how the Cougars handle it - if they go all-out Cubbie blue, I'll find something else to do with my time and money, thank you.

I thought the Cougars had always resisted being affiliated with the Cubs or Sox because they would essentially shut put 1/2 their fanbase

That's what I had heard too. It could be that, since there are more Cubs fans around than Sox fans, they just figured they're willing to appeal to the larger Cubs fan base even if it means alienating Sox fans.

I'm not sure what the Cubs/Sox fan split is for a typical Cougars crowd. Out here in the Fox Valley area, it always seemed to be more like at least 2/3 Cubs fans and 1/3 Sox fans to me.

If this is the direction the Cougars have decided to go, that's a shame IMO because I always thought they were a good place in Chicagoland to see a minor league game with players working their way up to the majors, enjoy the low-cost family oriented atmosphere, and not be in the middle of the Cubs/Sox rivalry.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChiSoxGal85

I agree. I was okay with rooting for the Cougars up to now (even as a Royals affiliate), but I admit that becoming a Cubs affiliate would discourage me from going to games. It does depend on how the Cougars handle it - if they go all-out Cubbie blue, I'll find something else to do with my time and money, thank you.

Yeah, they've done a good job until now downplaying their MLB affiliation. They do display the Royals logo (and before that, the A's logo) on some things, but it really doesn't come off as cheering for the Royals.

They have a pretty good display of the former Cougars players who went on to become major league stars (Adrian Gonzalez, Miguel Cabrera, etc.) Mostly it's players from the Marlins system when they were a Florida affiliate since the Marlins developed a lot of future stars at that time. They used to have a sign on their outfield wall that said "Podsednik Played Here".

But, if they're teaming up with the Cubs, I wonder if they're going to hype the place up as "Wrigley West" or "Wrigley Junior" and go on about how we all love the Cubs and are rooting for future stars of "our Cubbies". What better way to see Theo's future stars! If that's the case, then I won't be inclined to come back.

They started out with the Orioles, then went from them to the Marlins, A's, and now the Royals. As my kids have grown up going to a few KCC games every year, they are now too old to hang out with dad at the ball game, what with jobs and drivers licenses other halves and all. Looks like I am ending my partial season ticket package with them at the right time.

We should have a minor league presence in our home region. Currently, five our our seven minor league affiliates are located in the South with three of them in North Carolina. As a team in the Midwest, I cannot understand why we do not have an affiliate in the Midwest League. The Cubs, Brewers, and Cardinals all do. If I were KW, I'd be on the phone with Pete Vonachen today.

We should have a minor league presence in our home region. Currently, five our our seven minor league affiliates are located in the South with three of them in North Carolina. As a team in the Midwest, I cannot understand why we do not have an affiliate in the Midwest League. The Cubs, Brewers, and Cardinals all do. If I were KW, I'd be on the phone with Pete Vonachen today.

We were in Appleton for a long time, then moved to South Bend when it began. Don't know why we left, but with modern travel, proximity isn't much of an issue for a middle "A" affiliate.